Evaluation Q4

Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

To overcome the issues with copy write within this industry, both the band and the track we found and chose, we found using the website http://www.bestofbritishunsigned.com/

This site gave bands a place to exhibit and promote their selves and their music. The internet gives them a chance to get their music out to as many people as they can through using different sites. We had previously looked on   www.unsigned.com but we didn't find any bands or artists that we liked enough to use so we looked on other websites and then found them on Best of British. Finding our band and track using this website meant that we could use the song, and also meant that our band would be much easier to contact and ask for permission from rather than more popular signed bands. This is our band: http://prezi.com/xhbk3w7qh34i/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share  

We used Facebook as a means of carrying out feedback and research for our Promo. We did this because it is easy to get to the audience that we are targeting. Using this technology also helped in the contacting of our band, as they have their own page. It made it quick and simple, letting us easily find out some background information about them and the song.




Using YouTube helped as a research method. We could easily search for and explore different examples of music promos from a range of genres which enabled us to look at the typical conventions of a folk promo. This also helped me to develop my own ideas for our promo as from this site you get a good idea of conventions. This technology also helped with the exhibiting of our finished promo as it meant that everyone who watch videos on YouTube would see it and if they liked it enough they may share it on other networking sites meaning the promo would definitely get to our target audience.  When I was researching I used YouTube a lot to look at similar artists but also for inspiration on the typical conventions and expectations for folk music videos. I looked at videos like:

http://youtu.be/PxNYvk_0Onw - Gabrielle Aplin

http://youtu.be/LLdTcr98fSs - Gabrielle Aplin

http://youtu.be/RBumgq5yVrA - Passenger

http://youtu.be/aNzCDt2eidg - Birdy

I looked at these video because they were similar to our type of artist. They are all a type of folk genre. They all have something that inspired some of ideas that we discussed when we were deciding what to include in our promo.

This technology was used in the making of our music promo. We used this to put the selected clips together, add transitions and edit and add effects when needed or when necessary. When we uploaded our footage to iMovie we started to construct our promo by editing clips of our footage to sync to the track so that the pace of the editing and clips would match the pace of the track as it was an important convention in the folk genre which we had previously noticed when looking at other folk promos. We used this programme a lot for the editing and placement of our clips when we were deciding where we would place our narrative and performance clips so that they would create an effect that the audience would see and relate to the folk genre.

We used Photoshop to edit photos such as ones that we used in the promo as well as when we were creating our digipak and our advert, I did this by using pictures that I had taken during our filming. We decided as a group on what photos to use as we wanted to keep a theme throughout all of the products but also so that they reflected both the band and the genre. Once we chose some photos I put them together using Pixlr as well as word and then opened them in Photoshop to make them the correct size. I used Pixlr mainly to do the advert because it was easier to use as it only had simple tools that made it easy to manipulate the photo in terms of changing the contrast of the colours to make them brighter and cropping or adding parts to the photo to create an advert. The range of different effects that can be applied using these programs helped me to create a high quality and professional final product.

 

From doing this task I have learnt and developed a new range of skills including shooting, planning and also editing for both a promo and promotional packages to go with the promo.  I learnt how to construct a promo so that it would fit a genre by researching using different technologies to find the conventions of the folk genre. I also learnt how to use Photoshop to create a digipak and an advert that could be professionally used to promote the promo we created.   This project has helped me to think outside of the box when it comes to constructing a music promo  by filming many different shots so that we had a wide range to use but also to make sure the shots we did film where ones that you would usually see in the folk genre. My understanding of this helped me create and plan a wider range of effective and interesting shots which made our Promo stand out.

Through this promo I have learnt how to use editing in an effective way, to compliment the promo, rather than outdo or overwork certain shots. We used black and white video effects on pictures and some clips to create the feeling of a sub story to the narrative. By doing this I hoped to create the felling that there is good and bad sides to a relationship and that nothing is always black and white so by using this effect I would be showing the sadder side to a relationship as there is no colour as colour is associated with happiness. These are skills that I feel I have learnt since our prelim and the skills I had learnt in our prelim have improved such as my editing skills as I had more practise in matching the pace of the clips to the track, I also learnt how to create promotional packages like digipaks and adverts to promote our promo as well as other skills in filming, editing, syncing and so on. 

Through using the different technologies available such as Apple macs, iMovie, Photoshop and Pixlr, I have learnt how to develop each of my products to a high professional standard appropriate for the music industry.

Using iMovie we created our promo using footage that we had filmed using a video camera and then used the programme to construct our video by editing and using different effects to make our video fit the folk genre conventions but also to make a promo that was to a professional standard. 




Photoshop and Pixlr helped in the process of making our digipak and magazine advert. I have previous skills in both of the photo editing software so they were relatively easy to use but my skills improved further and I was able to produce a high quality advert and digipak.

We had some problems during filming such as:

Time: When we were filming the performance we only had the drama studio booked for a certain amount of time so we had to rush to get set up and film as many shots as we could get in before we had to leave. In the end we got the shots we needed as we used two cameras by setting them up at two different places so that we could film two shots at a time meaning that we had varied shots as well as more footage to use. We got lots of different angled shots as well as wide shots, close ups, mid and long shots. It would have been easier if we had more time to film as well as some people to help us with the film so that we could have gotten even more shots and so we didn't have to rush.  

Location: The weather on the day was perfect but it had rained on the previous day so it was very muddy so we had to be careful when we were filming so we didn't slip during filming. We all made sure that we chose place where it was the least muddy so that we didn't slip.  

Syncing: When it came to adding sound to our promo, we found that parts of the lip syncing and guitar syncing did not match up as well as they could do. So to fix this problem we made sure that we cut small sections of each time until it matched up the track perfectly so it helped us to gain a much more accurate result. When we were filming the performance we played the track as we filmed as well as had the lyrics on a screen so that when we filmed it was synced so when we got the footage on the macs we listened to the footage and matched it to the track which made it easier to sync.

Sound: When we burnt the video onto the disk we found that some of clip sound bled into the track so we went back to our video and deleted the sound of each clip as it was muted before so the sound bled into the sound track so after I corrected it I then burnt it again.

 We used Blogger as a means of recording our planning, research and our ideas for the final outcome of each of the products. Another thing that Blogger did was show all of my work to a world-wide audience as it is online so anyone can look at it and if they find my blog then they can find the link to our promo so it promoted our promo on a more world basis.  Whenever we needed to find a piece of work from the blog it was easy to find. Also posts on the blog were easy to change if they needed to be. We used search engines a lot for research and planning for a source of things such as information, videos and pictures. We used it mainly to find out information about our band as well a means to contacting them so we could find out more information about the track and the band so we could know the best ways to portray the song and the band. We used social networking sites for things like contacting the band and collecting feedback from our final promo as it was effective due to the amount of people that use these sites. We used iTunes for our track. It allowed us to access the song at any point during filming, as well as add the song onto our finished product.

By exhibiting our promo online we gained a range of views from our targeted audience as well as older generations. We exhibited it on YouTube so that the target audience as well as other would see it. We posted it on YouTube as it a well-known site that all ages of people from around the world can get access to so our promo will be seen by not only our targeted audience but also people of other age ranges. It was effective as it meant that lots of people would see the promo so if they liked it they would probably look up the band meaning that they would get more exposure. Also by exhibiting our material online, it helped us reach the full range of our target market, meaning that most would either hear about or see the three products. Exhibiting our material online opens up a number of free publicity options for our products. Because of there being such a large amount of people who use the internet rather than the more traditional methods for finding music, means our products will have a greater chance of reaching the target market therefore gaining more publicity for the track and the band.   

Evaluation Q3

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We carried out some research to see what people thought of our promo, digipak and advert. It was effective in finding out what people thought as we got them to fill out our questionnaire so they put their opinions down which gave us a chance to see what people though. When carrying out our research, we decided in order to get a wide range of results we used questionnaire. Due to this we got a vague range of results from which we could start using as a means of developing our own ideas for the promo. We made sure to include elements found in our results that would create a better music promo.

The expectation of a folk music promo that we found from our research were that people expected country girls and boys with jeans, boots and a checkered shirt playing guitars would be the thing that they would see . Using the research we decided that our actor’s would have to be a male and female couple around the age of 17 -18 age range. We also found out that our performers would also have to be around the same age as our actor’s or slightly older but not too much because that’s what the audience expected to see. We also found out that our music promo had to be located somewhere in the countryside because this is what folk promos were usually associated with, as well as that we had to include guitars and a performance.

I feel that this method of collecting our data worked well as we got a lot of different responses from people. I think we could have gone and got a better range of results by interviewing people rather than just a questionnaire because the feedback we got was limited to a few people which were easy to get to. Because we only did a questionnaire I feel that we didn't have a very wide range of people as that people we got to do the questionnaire were in a small area rather than a larger area. We used this feedback to improve parts of our advert and digipak so that they would be more appealing to the audience so that it made them want to listen to the track.

The final research I did was to post the final products onto a number of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. It was so that people could watch and comment for themselves. Facebook is a popular social networking site so it is a good way to get people to look at your band or artist because you can create pages where they can find information about the band, you can also post videos and information so that people can find out more. It is a good way to get feedback as people can share your video so more people can see it and give feedback.

Feedback from Facebook

We also carried out a feedback questionnaire with people that had watched the promo and looked at the other products that we had done. We did this as it was easier to get to the age range of the audience that we wanted to target.

We tested our final products by showing them to a small audience around the ages of our target audience then we collected feedback through questionnaires as well as comments from Facebook. Getting this feedback was very useful, as we could then see what elements worked and what didn’t from someone else’s point of view. This helped us work out what we could have improved and what we did that worked really well. It also helped us understand if the message we wanted to put across was clear enough and was easily understandable.

Evaluation Q2

Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

http://youtu.be/ntSOf2EeNjU - Promo

These three products work well together as a promotional package as they all undoubtedly advertise and represent the band ‘Sound of the Sirens’. As you can see there are two adverts the first one in black and white is the one we originally did but the second one is our improved final one. Throughout each of them you can see they complement each other well because they all have a theme throughout them which links them together so it is like they are promoting each other. The theme is based on colours and pictures used as well as important elements such as writing which was all found on the same website which was dafont.com. It promotes the track, meaning that anything that relates to this will be quickly connected with the band, giving an effective publicity. They all have a clear cohesion because of the elements used in one like pictures and writing. This means they will be easily linked to each other so if one part of the package is seen it will be easy to remember, then the other aspect will be quickly promoted as they will be easily recognisable and due to the theme of the song and the images shown it will mean the band and track will gain publicity from this promotional package will be positive. Because there are similar themes, like pictures, between all three of the products they all promote each other through the identification of the important elements included on them like the constant use of pictures of the band. 

Each of these products will be presented using traditional media methods such as music channels like Vevo because it is a popular music channel that it is watched by a wide range of people, music magazines like Kerrang! Because many people from our target audience buy this type of magazine to look at their favourite artists and in record stores that you would find around town because some people still go to buy a CD. This is because these methods still reach a larger number of our target market. This will give a good amount of promotion for the video, and help give a good representation of our band to their target market.

The problem with using traditional method is that not as many people visit or make these types of stores as they download their music nowadays. As well as using these traditional methods I will also new media to exhibit the three products such as using popular sites such as Facebook, YouTube, ITunes, Twitter and other popular networking sites. This is due to the growing numbers of people all around the world using these sites every day. This is more effective than the traditional methods but we still have to consider using traditional methods such as music stores, music channels and magazines because we may miss out on a large chunk of our target market.
The benefits of using and consuming music in this way is the much larger market the product will be exposed to due to the growing number of people now using these methods.

This was the advert that we had decided to do for our final one but then we decided we wanted to change it so the one below is the final one.

Our promo would be shown on Vevo (http://www.vevo.com/). This is because it is a more general music channel as it has included artists that are similar to ours.  Vevo TV has been more prominently placed across all platforms and divided into multiple channels. Users are able to flick between Vevo TV Hits for pop, Vevo TV Nashville for country music and Vevo TV Flow for R&B and rap. This is good for our promo as they play folk music as well so our band would be shown to the audience that we wanted to target. Each channel has its own clear, focused programming including music videos, live concert events and original content. This is why I would see our video on this channel as it is a more general music channel but it can also be specific to the genre of music. Because it is a general music channel the audience is of every culture, country and gender, meaning that the video would be seen by more than one type of audience. The age of the audience also varies so our video would be seen by everyone who watches the channel of all ages. 

Another thing that we could exhibit our video on is npr music channel online (http://www.npr.org/music/?sc=gaw&gclid=CP-G8fjXubsCFaXMtAoddjoARw#). It is a new online music channel which you can choose the genre of music you would want to listen to and folk music is one of the included genres. It is effective as it is a more specific site which you can chose the type of music you want to listen to rather than it already been chosen for you by a more general music channel.   

For our music advert I would place it in http://www.soundandmusic.org/thesampler. This is an online magazine; they also have a blog, http://blog.soundandmusic.org/. It is a comprising mix of composers, curators and Sound and Music staff, each blog post is aimed at offering something new to the new music community. From compositional practice to collaboration with other art forms, The Sampler blog provides a voice for composers. There are also two subsections of the blog: The Audience Development blog shares trials and best practice from Sound and Music and partners and the embedded blog features posts from composers on residency schemes with a range of organisations such as the Forestry Commission and Southbank Centre. The audience of this type of magazine is a more general audience as it is online so whoever finds it are the reader though the magazine does things to get a bigger audience. Our promo advert would fit into this magazine as it is for general unsigned or less well known bands so it would be a starting point for our band to get to more well-known magazines.